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Overview

“Lisbeth Salander is one of the most original characters in a thriller to come along in a while.”
--The New York Times

The Millennium series that began with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo has become this generation’s international bestselling phenomenon.

Disgraced crusading journalist Mikael Blomkvist has no idea of the levels of conspiracy he will uncover when is enlisted to investigate the unsolved disappearance nearly forty years ago of a Swedish industrialist’s niece. And when the pierced and tattooed computer savant Lisbeth Salander joins him, together they unearth layers and layers of secrets and scandals that permeate the highest levels of society, from politics to finance to the legal system itself--at the bottom of which lies unimaginable cruelty perpetrated on the weak. In the course of these three shocking, unputdownable thrillers, we encounter one of the most heroic of survivors, as she battles some of the most heartless villains ever imagined.

Stieg Larsson,who lived in Sweden, was the editor in chief of the magazine Expoand a leading expert on antidemocratic, right-wing extremist and Nazi organizations. He died in 2004, shortly after delivering the manuscripts for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest.

Biography

Born in Västerbotten in northern Sweden in 1954, Stieg Larsson had a professional career that bears a striking resemblance to that of the protagonist of his Millennium thrillers, Mikael Blomkvist. Beginning as a graphic designer for the news agency Tidningarnas Telegrambyrå (TT), Larsson went on to become the chief editor of Expo, the magazine published by the Expo Foundation, an organization he helped establish in 1995 to combat racism and the Swedish right-wing extremist movement.

Inspired by an old joke shared with a colleague at TT, Larsson admitted he started writing the Millennium novels -- The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played With Fire, and Castles in the Sky (working English title) -- just for fun. Describing them as "pension insurance," Larsson said he enjoyed the process of fiction writing so much that he didn't make contact with a publisher until he had completed the first two and had a third under way. Though Larsson died of a heart attack in 2004 and never saw any of his books in print, all three were subsequently published in Scandinavia and continental Europe to great acclaim. He left behind the unfinished manuscript for a fourth book in the series.

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Surprising in Many Ways

This is an excellent trilogy that is definitely worth the time to read. The characters are unique, the plot is original, and some very good thought was put into the progression. The entire series keeps you hooked and guessing. It's fun and entertaining while still remaining thought provoking. It has a fantastically liberal view on women that is refreshing to read, and deals with sexual persecution without sounding preachy.

The few downsides to the series, I think, are in the writing style. Perhaps lost in translation, but the style is rather bland at times, using no symbolism or metaphor or alliteration or any tiny details you might expect in a published novel. It in general straightforwardly tells you the story in third person limited while switching between the characters. The true insight into the characters are minimal, and in general they act in a predictable manner once their characteristics are established. That's not to say that the individual characters are uninteresting, just slightly one-sided. It probably would be a poor choice to read in an English class, but it makes a fantastic read for the general population.

13 out of 15 people found this review helpful.

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Boatner

Posted January 7, 2012

Could not put it down, read 1,400+ pages in 3 days!

When I saw there were only 100 pages left to read, I got sad. It's a shame that Mr. Larsen died before he could complete more than 3 books. That being said, the final book, english title; The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest, does wrap things up. We're not left hanging and that is nice.

I saw the recently released movie before I bought the book and I am glad I did. The movie is pretty faithful to the book but "the book is better." I think it was easier to follow at the beginning of "Dragon Tattoo" after having seen the movie.

8 out of 9 people found this review helpful.

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Avid_ReaderJS

Posted May 19, 2010

I must read all 3

I just finished "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" and was compelled to immediately logon and buy Larsson's other two books from this series. The characters became so real I was sad to finish the book. I cannot wait to get the others and see what happens next. Not only did the characters come alive, the story was fabulous. The twists and turns were great and unexpected. The ending left you frustrated but it felt right. I love this book!

8 out of 9 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted January 19, 2012

Good Thriller!

The first book was so good that I read it in a few days, and now I am half way through book two...I do not want to put it down! I cannot wait to finish the trilogy!

7 out of 7 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted January 7, 2012

Great book

It was such a great book. I couldnt put it down. I highly suggest to those who love mysteries.

6 out of 7 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted January 7, 2012

If you like mystery novels

Action and complex plot, characters you can feel. I give it all the stars I can!

6 out of 7 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted December 26, 2011

AMAZING!!

I love these books. Definitley a great series and would recommend to all my friends.

5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted February 11, 2012

A murder/mystery worth picking up.

This is typically not my genre. I picked this up because the movies were coming out and I love Daniel Craig. He reinvented the Bond franchise, and the Ian Fleming novels are a very simple and beautiful thing. The two have nothing to do with one another, though, and now I probably won't go to see his adaptation of Blomkvist. I also don't want to ruin any other character. They are so well-written and multi-faceted that I feel an actor would have a tough time pulling off a pleasing performance. Pick up the books and crash through them as I did. Save the movies for a weekend rental.

4 out of 8 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted January 1, 2012

A must read!

Even though the first 75 pages are slow,they are needed for the whole of the novel. I love Lisbeth and her character is emotionlly deep and very rememerable! The characters contrast one another which also makea it thrilling. This novel,and the series, would make a wonderful essay or thesis!

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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Rebel-reader

Posted July 20, 2010

I Also Recommend:

I did not want to put them down.

These books and their characters held my attention and I wanted to finish them as quickly as possible. However, i did not want the last book to end knowing there would be no more. The suspense is gripping.

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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Good Start to the Series

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Potita

Posted July 4, 2012

I am half way through the third book and am love the series! I a

I am half way through the third book and am love the series! I am dreading the moment when it is done and I cannot buy a fourth! Very regrettable that the author died and there are no more stories with Lisbeth and Mikael! Unlike another reviewer who also gave the series high marks, I do not find the characters &quot;one-sided&quot;. Perhaps that is the case with Lisbeth to a degree but that is more due to her particular situation.. Mikael is a multi-faceted individual who is loyal, compassionate, intelligent and flawed. My only &quot;complaint&quot; is that all of the Swedish names of characters and towns are long, unfamiliar and or too similar and confusing. Maybe just me but it seems like all the names ended with son, sson, sen,... and since the author generally refers to the characters by the last name, I sometimes had to go and double check who was who... of course part of the problem could have be due to the fact that I could not put the books down I would literally read till I fell asleep! That may have added to my name confusion : )

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted May 18, 2012

I recomend

Im a busy person, and i mean real busy being in the military. So when i do have time to read this book i have trouble wanting to stop. The plot keeps you thinking and trying to figure out whats going on through out every chapter. I havent seen the movie or read the whole thing yet, but i plan to do both.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted January 8, 2012

Fabulous Read!

I read the first book in 2 days! It was compelling, entertaining, thrilling and not predictable. I look forward to reading the entire trilogy.

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted January 1, 2012

Paid advetisement foe
Paid advertisement for Apple

The book starts of good then falls completely apart. It actually felt like an Apple ad with a little fluff of a story.

2 out of 9 people found this review helpful.

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Myrian_Souza

Posted March 28, 2011

Extremely exciting!!!

I´ve never found anything so entertaining and exciting to listen to while driving. This trilogy gets you wondering and looking forward to know what is gonna happen next. Get ready for the suspense and unexpected facts on the Millenium Trilogy.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted March 5, 2012

Just make it through the beginning.

This is a great start to an even better trilogy. It's starts a little slow, but at 50 pages in it had me hooked.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted February 16, 2012

Great reads

Loved this series. A must read. They just get better and better as you read them!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted February 12, 2012

Great reading. Enjoyed the Swedish Movies more than English

Books where a great read, Enjoyed the Swedish Movies more than the English first movie.
Reading the subtitles was hard at first, but I still liked the Swedish version better.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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